Abstract
The effectiveness of compost, peat-calcite, and wood ash to remove Ni from a circum-neutral-contaminated mine water was tested in continuous flow experiments. Materials were compared in 4.8-L columns at hydraulic residence times (HRT) of ∼ 16.5 h over the course of 2.5–4 months. During this period, all columns successfully treated over 400 L of synthetic contaminated neutral drainage (4.05 mg/L Ni), mainly through sorption processes. Mid-column results (HRT ∼ 9 h) indicated that wood ash was the most effective material for Ni removal, and chemical extractions revealed that retained Ni was less mobile in this spent material. The pH-increasing properties of wood ash played a major role in this material’s performance, but a pH correction would be required in the initial stages of full-scale treatment to maintain the effluent within regulatory limits (6–9.5). Scaled to full-sized, mid-column results indicated that treatment cell sizes, designed for the 1-year treatment of a high discharge (10 m3/h)–contaminated effluent (4.05 mg/L Ni), would be the smallest with wood ash (< 500 m3), followed by compost (600 ± 140 m3) and peat-calcite (720 ± 50 m3).
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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information file.
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Acknowledgments
DR wishes to acknowledge support from the “Fonds de recherche Nature et technologies” (FQRNT) graduate scholarship program and from the “Fondation et alumni de Polytechnique Montréal” (Bourse Banque de Montréal).
Funding
This study was funded by the NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada), grant no. 469489-14, and the industrial partners of the RIME UQAT Polytechnique Montreal, including Agnico Eagle, Mine Canadian Malartic, Iamgold, Raglan Mine Glencore, and Rio Tinto.
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DR participated in the conceptualization of the project and performed the experiments. She wrote the methodology, analyzed the data, and wrote the original draft. DR also reviewed and edited the manuscript. CMN participated in project conceptualization and data interpretation. CMN also reviewed and edited the manuscript. GJZ conceptualized and supervised the project, participated in the development of the methodology, analyzed the data, co-wrote, reviewed, and edited the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Richard, D., Neculita, C.M. & Zagury, G.J. Removal of nickel from neutral mine drainage using peat-calcite, compost, and wood ash in column reactors. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 14854–14866 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11623-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11623-0